Pokémar Episode 5: A Clone's Destiny
by finalfrontier2048
Summary: Answering the call to investigate some kidnapped pokemon, Alex and Thunder find themselves is a reality where pokemon and humans coexist. Alongside some new friends a deadly plot unravels, and at its center, a mysterious pokemon that calls itself Mewtwo... 5/10 in the Pokémar series.
1. Imperfect Reunion

All eyes in the guild's hall are locked on me. A mixture of relief, joy, and confusion are evident in their expressions. Honestly, I'm the same way. Another apocalypse? Time travel? Another me? Frick, I thought the Bittercold Crisis was crazy, but this? This is another matter entirely.

But the scariest part is that I don't remember any of it. I didn't do anything they said I did. It was my future self. This version of Thunder hadn't fought alongside me, but another version of me. And now...

I glance over at Thunder. Unpleasant thoughts rush through my head. He wasn't there when I fell from the sky. When we reached the Great Glacier. When we defeated Kyurem. He doesn't have those memories. Is it still him? Is he still the Thunder I know? No. Stop it. Of course he is. Memories don't define someone. Mostly...

"So, hello there, everyone." I say, the awkwardness thick in the air. "What do I even say? How do you respond to a situation like this?"

"Let's start with 'is it really you?'" Chatot asks.

"Honestly... I'm not sure. I want to believe I'm the same Alex that spent his time here. Heck, he sounds a lot like me. I could imagine myself doing a lot of the stuff I've been told he did." I pause for a moment. "Simply put, I can't answer that."

"What exactly brought you here?" A Bidoof asks. "I mean, you're from New Hope, right? You work out of Unova Minor. What brings you here?"

"I had a mission. Reports of kidnapping. Targets being Mew. The call came from Sinnoh Minor, so I used the magnagate generator to get here as fast as possible. Things were going to plan until..."

"Right..." Thunder interjects. "Though these Mew probably still need help."

"I think you're right. If you don't mind, sir," I look to the Wigglytuff, trying my best not to look unnerved.

"Of course, Alex! We'd be happy to have you with us again!"

"Thank you all for your understanding in this... truly insane situation. I appreciate it. Thunder, mind showing me to your- er, our room?"

"Right. Yeah. This way." Thunder beckons for me to follow. We weave our way through the crowd and down the hall towards the living quarters. Up until we step into our room dead silence envelops the air around us. I know what's on his mind. The same thing on mine. But I'm afraid to say anything. If I acknowledge it, I could very well find that my worst fears are realized. That Thunder is gone and this Pikachu may as well be a complete stranger. But I can't keep this up. It needs to be addressed.

"...I wish I could say that I vaguely remember this. That some ethereal part of my other self latched on and let me see what had happened." I finally say, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. That would be nice." Thunder pauses for a second. "When I saw you on the beach this morning I thought I had witnessed a miracle. My close friend back from the dead. But..." He holds back tears. "You're not even the same pokemon. he was a Treeko. You're a Snivy. I want to look at you and see my partner. The guy who always had my back. But I just can't."

"I know. But maybe it's not all bad." I try to swing a more positive angle on the matter. "I used to say that I thought that fate and destiny were fallacies. Something that some people just dreamed up and ran with. But the fact that we still found each other after we went back in time, and again after his... no, my death, tells me that someone or something is trying to keep us together. It might by fate. or just a legendary being a guardian Togakiss. But if they've gone to the trouble of keeping us together, they're going to do their best to keep us together."

"How would they do that?"

"Honestly? I have no idea. I just pray that I'm right somehow."

A moment of silence passes.

"...We should focus on your mission." Thunder says. "You have a lead?"

"Yeah. A Psyduck claimed he felt psychic emanations at the base of Mt. Travail. The kind a psychic type would emit when in distress. It's not much, but it's close to the latest reported kidnapping. Best I've got."

"Any idea what they want the Mew for? That's a very specific target."

"No. That's what scares me." Mew are able to use any move they want. Elemental attacks. Psychic powers. Spiritual energies. If they learn how to do it, they can. Which means they facing one is a significant risk. My fear is they're forcing the Mew to work for them, letting them carry out far more destructive crimes than they could before.

"In that case we'd better move."

"Yeah. You get ready I'll meet you at the guild entrance."

"Alright. See you there."

I push my feelings aside. I have a mission to complete. Pokemon are in possible danger. I can't have personal concerns clouding my judgement. It's time to get going. Besides, fighting with him could bring out more of the Thunder I remember. And if not, then I'll find another way. I'm going to make this work out, one way or another. I will not lose my best friend.

"There's an old training dojo a short ways from here.." Thunder says. "Probably a good place to start looking."

"Good call. Keep close. We may run into an ambush."

"I wasn't planing on leaving..."

"Oh. Sorry." I silently chastise myself. I had spoken as if he were a stranger. That's something I need to shut down fast. I can't let myself slip into habits like that.  
I force my attention away from my thoughts and to my surroundings. Nothing spectacular. Rough terrain, large boulders dotted about, the abandoned building Thunder mentioned dead ahead. Apparently it is home to a mystery dungeon as well, but apparently it's not in view, wherever it is.

_Bang!_ A violent sound echoes out from the old building just as we reach the steps. It almost sounds like a gunshot.

"What on... What that an explosion?" Thunder asks.

"Not sure. A small one maybe."

_Bang! Bang!_ Two more of these sounds ring out. Is that gunfire? No, couldn't be. There's no place here advanced enough to build firearms. But the sound is uncannily familiar.

"I have a bad feeling about this." I mutter quietly. "Stay low." Cautiously we approach the building, making our way to the main room. As I round the corner into the room, I catch a glimpse. Five pokemon. Two Mew. One dead. And a Charizard, Electabuzz, and Heracross. The three other pokemon are the focus of my attention.

They appear to be wearing what look to be human clothing. Matching sets of black pants and a white shirt embroidered with a massive capital R printed in red on the chest. And the Electabuzz is holding... is that a pistol?! But that can't be possible! Are they humans like me? And they somehow brought things over with them?

"Frick! Get down!" I urge to Thunder, keeping my voice low. "Don't let them see you!" This mission just got a lot more dangerous.


	2. Incursion

Thunder is thankfully quick to heed my words, putting his back to the wall and keeping out of the doorway.

"What is it Alex? What's wrong?"

"One of them has a gun." I reply. "How they got one, I could only guess."

"A what?" Ah... right, this Thunder never heard me talk about the human world.

"A gun. Human weapon. Imagine bullet seed, but the seed is made of lead and going about five times the speed of sound."

"Arceus..." Thunder goes slightly pale at the thought.

"Yeah. Unless you're a steel type it'll punch a hole straight through you. So we need to be extremely careful here." I go quiet and peek out to observe the kidnappers.

Perhaps I can learn a bit about why they're here.

"What was that?!" I hear the Mew cry in panic. "What did you do to him?!" She gestures to the deceased Mew beside her. Gunshot wound. Straight through the head. At least it was quick...

The aggressors say nothing. The Charizard, apparently the leader, gestures forward with a hand motion that I can't immediately recognize. In response, the Electabuzz, weapon still trained on the Mew, pulls something off his belt. A spherical device, simple in design. A grey button sits at the front in an depression that runs the length of its equator. The top half is red, the bottom half white.

He pushes the button, causing the sphere to open up and fire a beam of blue energy at the Mew. The bright, blue light engulfs her as she screams in fear. I watch as her body compresses into a glowing sphere of white that is immediately sucked into the sphere. With a click, the device snaps shut. No trace of the Mew is left behind.

"What was that?!" Thunder mutters, looking to me for answers.

"You're guess is as good as mine. We don't have anything anywhere close to that on earth."

"Is she alive?"

"Best case scenario that thing is somehow storing her. If that's the case we need to get a hold of it."

The three pokemon exchange quick nods before turning to leave. This is our best chance. But we need to strike fast. If they get the chance to shoot us, it's over.

"Right. Let's go." I say, gesturing for him to take out the one with the gun with thunder wave. Thunder hesitates for a second before steeling himself up and creeping out from his spot. I follow close behind, ready to lend assistance as needed. The trio head deeper into the dojo as we tail them, approaching a weird, shimmering plate-like shape about as large as a pickup truck. It looks almost embedded into the air around it. On its surface I can see the interior of another building. One made with concrete and metal. Is that some kind of portal? Humans coming through and taking pokemon to use for their own ends? Whatever it is, it stops now.

"Three, two, one, go!" I say to Thunder, expecting a shockwave of electric energy to hit the Electabuzz. But it doesn't happen. Instead he decides to go with a quick attack. "Thunder, what the-" Did he not understand?

The attack alerted the the three of them almost instantly. The Electabuzz is fast to bring the weapon to bear.

"Move!" I yell, watching as a shot narrowly misses him. I latch onto his hands with my vines in a bid to keep him from using the weapon. I pull at them, messing with his aim and keeping him from getting a clean shot off on Thunder. Frustrated, he turns the gun on me. I barely get a chance to react before I feel something cut straight through my lower gut. Intense, searing pain consumes my body. I scream out involuntarily and clutch the wound, not daring to look.

"Alex! No!" Thunder screams in horror. The Electabuzz turns to face my friend and raises the weapon. But the Charizard grunts at him and puts his hand on the gun, lowering it down. He pulls out another one of those sphere devices and points it at Thunder.

"No... Please... Don't..." I moan helplessly. But they refuse to acknowledge me. All I can do is watch as Thunder disappears before my eyes. "T-thunder..." I mutter plaintively.

They turn to me and pull out another one. With no other choice I simply close my eyes and wait. The sensation is like pins and needles spreading across my body. All sensation begins to fade until only my thoughts remain Soon a feeling of entrapment takes hold. It feels like a cage. Like bare metal in all directions. And I can't get out. I'm too weak to even come close.

I can still sense you outside world. The three aggressors appear to be satisfied and turn to head back through the shimmering portal. As I cross the threshold, Immense pain takes over. I feel like I'm convulsing, warping. Changing shape and form. My little prison cell grows smaller and smaller, I feel compressed. Under impossible pressure. It gets worse and worse, tighter and tighter until... There's a release. My cage bursts. And I feel myself coalesce back into being. But the strain of it all is too much. I feel my consciousness waiver before slipping under.

I come to some time afterwards, lying down on a bed. As I shake the cobwebs loose I take time to assess my surroundings. It looks like a sparsely decorated bedroom with just a bed, a footlocker, and bedside table. Off to one side it a person. A human. A women I don't recognize. I look down and see my body, my human body, wearing a pair of light grey shorts and bloodied bandages around my abdomen.

"Ah, you're awake. We were starting to worry." She says in a soft voice.

"Ohhhhhh..." I moan. "What happened... Where am I?"

"At a hospital, recovering. I wanted to apologize for my cohorts and their... lack of restraint. We didn't mean for anyone to get hurt."

"Uh huh... Yeah. Sure. Let's go with that. What do you want?"

"I need to ask a few questions. About what you were doing in that world. It's in the interest of bettering our understanding of this pokemon filled world." This just screams suspicious. Something here is seriously wrong. I'd better not have to save the world a third time...


	3. Interrogation

"Why should I trust you?" I ask her. If she wants answers, she's going to have to fight for them.

"We treated your wound, didn't we?" She replies. If she's keeping up an act, it's pretty good.

"Yeah. after you shot me."

"I just told you, they weren't supposed to use lethal force."

"Tell that to the dead Mew back there." I start to raise my voice. "You come in to our world, start kidnapping pokemon and killing at least one, and you expect me to believe you have good intentions?"

"Sir, you're making assumptions based on limited information. We'll tell you what you want to know if you tell us what we want to know."  
"Not until you can prove to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'm not putting pokemon in harm's way."

Her calm demeanor begins to crack as her voice takes on an air of frustration. "You're in no position to make demands of us." There it is. She's resorted to veiled threats. My mind is made up.

"I have nothing more to say to you. I will not jeopardize innocent lives."

"Does that include your Pikachu? Because we'll use him if you force us to."

"Thunder?" My bravado and defiance vanish instantly the moment she mention him; and her frustration appears to subside as my hostility fades. "Don't you dare hurt him!"

"You insisted on doing this the hard way. Now, are you going to tell us what we want to know?" A tense silence engulfs the room as my mind scrambles to find a way out of this. But my captor holds all the cards. All I can do is be selective with what I tell her and feign ignorance where I can.

"...What do you want to know?" I mutter with a defeated sigh. Judging by her restrained smile, she's happy with the result.

"Finally. So, You're a human that exists within this parallel reality. You took the form of a Snivy and apparently know how to use moves, speak their language, and are adept as one. I want you to tell me how you did this. And how we can do it." So that's what they want. A way to blend in. To perform reconnaissance. But to what end? To kidnap pokemon? There's no way I can let that stand. I'll need to choose my words carefully.

"I... I learned through trial and error. I was a bit of a mess the first month or so."

"But you figured it out. Tell us what you learned."

"There's so much to talk about. I have no idea where to start. Besides, it was years ago so my memory is a little rusty."

The woman glares intensely into my eyes, as if to try to pressure me into talking. Her gaze is extremely unnerving, making me squirm uncomfortably in my cot.

_"Miss Siana? Do you copy?"_ The static-laced sound of a portable radio on her belt breaks the silence. She groans as she unclips it and brings it up to her face.

"Jonathan... This better be important..." She lowers the volume of the radio and brings it up to her ear, presumably to keep me from hearing anything. All I can get from it is muffled speech with nothing of substance filtering through. But whatever this "Jonathan" said to her, it's enough to worry her. "Oh... I'll be right there." She clips the radio back onto her belt before pointing at me. "You. Stay put. We're not done with you." She gets up and rushes for the door. It opens to reveal two men with pistols wearing the same garb as the ones who shot me.

"If he get out, shoot him." She orders.

"You got it boss." One of them replies. The door slams shut, locking with a click. I am now alone in this room.

Immediately I sit myself upright, forgetting about the gunshot wound in my gut. Blinding, fiery pain screams out from the wound, making my yell out in surprise.

"Frick..." I mutter, clutching my torso. "Well, this is deja vu... No Hydreigon to help this time..." I take a moment to scan over the room. There isn't much, just the cot, footlocker, and table I noticed when I first woke up. There does appear to be a vent grate in the floor off to the corner, but it's way too small to fit into. and even then, crawling through a ventilation duct would be incredibly noisy.

With difficulty, I shift myself over to the footlocker and open it up. Empty except for a single paperclip. Do I dare try to lockpick? I don't even know how. Might be my only way out. But the moment I open that door I'll be staring straight down the barrel of a gun. Only other option would be to lure them inside by pretending I'm dying or something. But there's no way I could overpower them both. There must be a way out...

A shudder in the room cuts my train of thought short. The lights go out briefly before sputtering back to life.

"What on-" I hear one of the guards cry out in surprise. I limp my way to the door, propping myself up against it to listen. I can hear a klaxon blaring along with a voice calling out over the PA.

_"Attention. Lockdown protocol is in effect. For your own safety, remain where you are."_ Did they just say lockdown?! What is happening out there!?

"Wait, they can't lock us in here!" One of the guards say.

"How much you wanna bet they did something in the lab? Like made some supervirus or something. Who knows what sorts of messed up crap they're doing in there." Their conversation is interrupted by sounds of gunfire and screaming echoing from somewhere else in the facility.

"Arceus... Are they dying over there? Screw this, they're not paying me enough to deal with whatever that is!

"I hear ya! Let's go!" I head frantic footsteps as they race away.

"Hey! Wait! Don't just leave me here!" I scream while banging on the door. I get no response in return. They're probably long gone. Meanwhile the sounds of conflict continue. Whatever this thing is that triggered the lockdown, it's tearing this place apart. And if it crosses paths with me, I have a feeling I won't be walking away alive.

With effort, I lumber back towards the footlocker and take the paperclip. Lockpicking it is then. Returning to the door I unravel the paperclip and stick it into the keyhole. Alright, how is this supposed to work... There are pins that need to be pushed up, right? I gotta feel around for them and... is that one? Can't tell. Let's try it. ...Is it good? Augh... I have no idea what I'm doing.

With no other option I keep trying. Outside the sounds of destruction and chaos continue. Slowly I start to get a feel for it. What I'm looking for and what to do with it. And after a few tense minutes it happens. I can hear a click as the lock mechanism shifts. A turn of the doorknob later and I'm free.

I am greeted to a hallway comprised of grey metal, a place that could almost fit into an old 80's sci-fi movie. Red lights illuminate the empty halls and klaxons continue to blare. And Thunder is somewhere out there in the chaos. I choose a direction and limp as fast as I can. I pray that whatever is loose doesn't get to him first...


	4. Liberation

Progress is slow. My gut erupts into searing pain with every limping step I take. The screaming of the klaxons are doing nothing for me either. But I set it aside and keep going. I need to get Thunder and get out of here as quickly as possible.

My directionless journey through red lit halls eventually bears fruit. I stumble across a door labeled "pokemon storage." Perfect. This is exactly what I'm looking for. I open to door to reveal numerous rows of metal shelves, each one filled with those red and white spheres, all resting on small stands to keep them from rolling off. Arceus, how many pokemon have they kidnapped?! There's got to be at least a hundred in this room alone!

I hobble down the rows of shelves, glancing at the spheres on display. Each one looks to have something written on the top of each in permanent marker, though it's in a shorthand style I don't recognize. I pick one up to have a closer look, trying to find some way of opening it. I press the central button, seeing as it's really the only thing I can do. The button responds by idly flashing a green light as if to indicate a ready status. I press it again. The light turns off. I push it again and it toggles back on. What am I supposed to do with this?

I set it back on the shelf, not wanting to risk harming the occupant, whoever it may be. The sound of an explosion catches my attention.

"Frick, that sounded close..." I mutter quietly to myself. Whatever it is that's destroying everything sounds like it's headed this way.

Another explosion rattles the room, the shockwave jostling loose several of the spheres. A cacophony of vaguely electronic _pling_ sounds ring out as a number of them clatter to the floor and bounce slightly. The one I was messing will is among them. But once that one falls, something else happens. After hitting the floor it opens, spitting out a bolt of light. The light gathers on the floor and begins to mold itself into a shape of a creature. The light dies down, leaving behind a Growlithe in it's place.

_"Thank Arceus you came."_ He says to me in pokespeak. _"They kept me in that thing for weeks!"_

_"You're welcome, I guess."_ I reply, also in pokespeak. The Growlithe looks at me in surprise.

_"You know pokespeak!?"_

_"I do. I'm Alex of Team New Hope. And I need your help."_

_"New Hope? Never heard of them. Anyways, what do you need?"_ He hasn't heard of New Hope? That's surprising. These days almost everyone I talk to knows who we are.

_"I'm looking for a friend. A Pikachu named Thunder. I think he's in this room somewhere. I-"_ Another explosion cuts me off. It's getting dangerously close now. _"...I need to find him before whatever is out there gets him first. The more people searching the better."_

_"Alright. I have a few friends I want freed too."_

_"Something tells me we're going to end up opening all of these anyways. Let's go."_ I grab another sphere, hitting the center button and dropping it on the floor. The sphere opens to reveal a Riolu. _"You overheard us talking, right?"_ I ask, remembering how I was aware of the outside world when I was in one.

_"Yeah."_ She replies.

_"Alright. Well get started opening these things. Let's try and get everyone out of here if we can."_ She nods in response and grabs another sphere off the shelf.  
As we continue to free the others, the room quickly fills. It doesn't take long before this storage room starts feeling like an out of control zoo. I keep a watchful eye out for Thunder, a task growing harder by the second.

_"Thunder!"_ I yell, trying to be heard over the mounting commotion. _"Thunder! Over here!"_ I get no response. Or his response is drowned out by the noise. Hopefully those klaxons are masking all of this. Last thing we need is a guard walking in on this. "Thunder!"

"Over here! Over here Alex!" I get a reply. I see a Pikachu with a familiar bandanna and badge hopping between the heads of the taller pokemon towards me. With a final leap, he plants himself on my right shoulder. _"Thank goodness you're alive!"_

_"They kept me alive because they wanted information out of me. The lockdown provided a enough of a distraction for me to get free."_

_"What did they want to know?"_

_"About Pokemar. How I learned to be a pokemon, how I learned pokespeak, things like that. I think they want to send their people in and do who knows what."_

_"You didn't say anything, did you?"_

_"No, the lockdown happened before they could get anything from me. Speaking of which, how the frick are we getting out of here?"_

_"Don't ask me. I've been stuck in that blasted ball for six hours."_ His tone of voice makes it clear that he despises that thing. Can't say I blame him.

_"Well we need to find an exit, first of all. Maybe then we can fig-"_ The sound of shearing metal cuts me off. The far wall has just been peeled open like a can lid, revealing a hallway behind it. The massive chunk of metal hovers in the air for a split second, radiating an energy that wafts off of it like pink fumes. And just as suddenly as it was ripped away, it was launched off down the hall with blinding speed, followed shortly by screams of pain and fear.

All the pokemon in the room scatter in a panic, trying to funnel out the door, but only succeeding in creating a bottleneck. Meanwhile gunfire continues to ring out from the hall. We're effectively trapped. I get behind one of the shelves, whatever good that'll do us.

Something steps into view from the right, a pokemon, I think. None that I've ever seen before. A bipedal being standing a little under 7 feet tall. It's skin is an off-white grey with a long, violet tail and what looks to be a tube running between the base of the head and the upper back.

The being walks forward slowly, as if to intimidate its attackers. It's arm is outstretched, using what I can only assume to be psychic powers to deflect all oncoming fire back at the users.

It doesn't take long before the hail of bullets comes to an end. The pokemon lowers its hand before turning our way. His eyes lock on me and I tense up.

_"A-Alex? W-what do we do?"_ Thunder feebly asks me. As if I could give him an answer. The pokemon tilts its head slightly, apparently curious. For a moment we just stare. What does it want? Why hasn't it tried to kill me?

A fresh round of gunfire takes it's attention away. In an instant it speeds away towards the source, leaving us alone in the room.

_"Well, that just happened..."_ I say.

_"Yeah. I thought we were dead for sure."_

_"Guess luck is on our side. Regardless, we should find a way out. Keep an eye out and let me know if you see anything."_ With difficulty I stand back up, my wound still burning in pain.

_"You going to be okay?"_

_"I hope so. With any luck there's a hospital somewhere nearby. One thing at a time, though. We escape first."_ I slowly limp my way out the door and back into the hall. With no idea where to go, we're just going to have to hope we stumble across something. Preferably something without guards.


	5. A Way Out

With a roomful of pokemon now on the loose the sounds of chaos have escalated. It sounds like a war zone echoing throughout every corridor. Gunfire is replaced with a wide variety of sounds from a variety of pokemon who are fighting for their lives. I just hope they get out alive.

_"Alex! Ahead! I see stars!"_ Thunder cries out. Sure enough a dozen or so yards away a hole in the concrete wall ahead frames the night sky above green treetops and knee-high grass. A forest. And escape route probably courtesy of our grey and purple friend. Perfect. Just what we need to lose them.

_"Sweet. Let's hurry."_ I reply as I slowly limp my way towards our freedom. Hopefully we're not somewhere too remote. Though with our luck that's almost certainly the case.

The sounds of shouts behind me give pause to those thoughts. Without anything to take cover behind we're sitting ducks. But we could make their jobs a little harder.

_"Thunder! Shock the lights!"_

_"The glowing things?"_

_"Yes! Those!"_

A branching bolt of electricity arcs forward towards the light fixtures above us. After a brief power surge the lights burn out in a cascade, leaving the hall in darkness with only the outside giving off any light. I stand against the wall to avoid casting a silhouette and slowly shimmying forward, inching my way closer to the opening.

"Son of a..." One of the guards mutters. "You got a flashlight?"

"Yeah." Crap! Didn't think this through!

A circle of light suddenly comes into being, sweeping across the hall before centering on us.

"There he is!" I have no choice. I have to run for it. I sprint towards the open hole, my gut violently erupting in pain with each step. I hear gunfire behind me from, thankfully missed shots. I barely get through the hole before the pain becomes too much. I collapse to the ground, blood seeping into the bandage from my now reopened wound.

_"No! No, get up Alex! Hurry!"_ I hear Thunder scream. The pain is too all consuming for me to respond. My thoughts grow fuzzy and faded as I start to pass out. The last thing I consciously remember is Thunder returning fire on the guards with electro balls.

Thunder  
Thunder refuses to relent with his attacks. Each electric sphere forcing the guards back further and further back out of fear. But he can't keep it up forever. Eventually he'll tire and they'll start spitting those lead bullets at them again. He's seen what it did to Alex. It's not hard to imagine it killing him in short order.

_"Looks like it's time to return the favor!"_ A voice calls from behind. Thunder glances quickly behind him to see the Growlithe that Alex had freed before. He dashes over to Thunder and joins in on the attack, spitting puffs of fire at them. The guards say something out of alarm and back up much farther. Good. Now to focus on Alex.

_"He's hurt, bad. We need to get him out of here."_ Thunder replies.

_"We'll need to get out of their sight first. We can't carry him with them shooting at us."_ The Growlithe says before letting a wave of fire loose. The flame grows to engulf the width of the hall before it dies out, leaving behind a thin cloud of smoke barely illuminated by the moonlight seeping in form the hole. Wait a minute. Smoke. If his fire had something to burn the smoke could be much thicker. What could-

Grass! The grass outside! It should burn high enough to mask their escape.

_"I got it! Light the grass up as we exit! That'll keep them from following us!"_

_"That could work."_

_"Right! Let's do it!"_ Thunder leaps out the hole, watching as Growlithe does the same, simultaneously spitting more embers and flame at the oncoming aggressors. Once outside he inhales deeply and spews a sizable blast of fire at the ground, quickly igniting the grass and sending smoke skyward. Before long, the hole was completely blocked off by a wall of flame and thick smoke. Exactly what Thunder was hoping for. _"Perfect! Now let's get him out of here! There's got to be a town here somewhere nearby."_

Growlithe grabs hold of one of Alex's hands and starts pulling. Thunder joins in with the other hand, pulling as hard as his body would allow. It takes a lot of effort, but they eventually get moving. Behind them the fire starts to spread, further blockading their would be adversaries. So at least there's that. All they can do now is get as far away from here as possible and find help. Assuming they find someone who's willing to.

* * *

_"I can't..."_ Thunder pants. _"I can't do it anymore..."_ He let's go of Alex's hand, sitting down on the ground as he catches his breath. _"Too tired..."_ Thankfully they had gotten a good ways away from that building and everyone who wished them harm. But without a way to treat Alex's wounds, he won't survive.

_"I'm beginning to feel it too."_ Growlithe replies. _"I think we need to go get help and lead them here."_

_"You mean we should leave him behind?"_

_"We really aren't flush with options right now."_ Growlithe pauses, sticking his nose in the air and sniffing, before bringing his head down to the ground and doing the same. _"...Exhaust fumes... means cars, means humans. Yeah. Hurry. This way."_

_"Fumes? Cars? What on Pokemar are you talking about?"_

_"Just follow me. We might not have much time."_ He's right. Every moment they wait, the closer Alex is to death. They need to move.

_"Alright. Mind if I take a ride? I'm too tired to keep up myself."_

_"Yeah. no problem. Hop on."_ Growlithe leans down as Thunder climbs on. As soon as he's situated, he nods to him and they gallop off into the distance. It doesn't take long before they reach something of interest. A road. A wide one made of gravel rock curving off into the distance. Good. Where there's road, there's civilization.

_"Keep a lookout. Tell me when you see someone."_ Growlithe tells him. Thunder obliges, glancing in both directions for someone to call upon. Several minutes pass with no one in sight. Anxiety starts to bubble up within him. If they even find someone now will they be too late? He just got a second chance with his friend, if Alex is taken away from him a second time... he won't be able to take it.

_"There! Someone's coming! Make some light! Draw their attention!"_ Growlithe yells suddenly. Light starts seeping out from behind the curve, revealing two blindingly bright eyes speeding towards them. Thunder's hairs stand on end. What in Arceus' name is that!?

Growlithe starts billowing flame into the air, trying to catch the attention of whatever that horrifying thing is. Reluctantly, Thunder joins in, using thunderbolt to summon a mini storm cloud to strike the area around them. The speeding eyes start to slow as they approach, soon coming to rest alongside them. Their source reveals itself. A massive cart made of metal and glass. At least he thinks it's a cart. there's not much else he can compare it to. A door opens on the side of it. From within a human steps out.

_"Yes! He stopped! Human! Follow us! Hurry!"_ Growlithe barks happily before sprinting off into the forest back to Alex. The human follows, using some sort of cylindrical device to light the way. Before long they return to Alex. The human immediately rushes to him and looks him over, saying something that, to Thunder, sounds like a mangled mess of words and sounds.

The human appears panicked, concerned over Alex's well being as he looks at the bandage around Alex's torso. After a brief moment of hesitation, he picks the wounded Alex up and hurries back to his cart-thing. Growlithe follows, with Thunder still riding on his back. A surge of relief washes over him. Alex just might make it.

_"Come on Alex, hang in there..."_ Thunder mutters quietly to himself. _"I can't lose you again..."_

Soon the cart is in sight. The human opens a door and lays him on the seat in the back. Growlithe jumps inside with them, resting under the seat.

_"Alright. Now we wait. You should get some rest. You look exhausted."_ Growlithe says as he lies down, letting Thunder get off.

_"Yeah. Rest."_ The human get's into the seat in front of them and the cart lurches to life with an unnatural roar. Thunder yelps in surprise as he gets tossed back slightly from the force before everything settles. _"T-this thing is safe, right?"_

_"Should be. The humans seem to know how to work them just fine."_ Growlithe pauses for a second. _"You mind if I ask a few questions?"_

_"May as well. I've got nothing better to do."_

_"What's your deal, exactly? How does your trainer know pokespeak? And what what this 'Pokemar' you referenced earlier?"_

_"Wait, you're not from Pokemar? I thought you were kidnapped like us two."_

_"Kidnapped, yes. From Pokemar, no."_

_"Wait, so where are we?"_

_"I asked first."_

_"Alright. But get ready. It's a long story."_


	6. Recovery

"Ugh..." I moan as I start to wake up. Opening my eyes, I find myself not in the forest or back in the facility, but in a hospital recovery room, now wearing a hospital gown instead of the shorts and bandage from before. Guess Thunder found help. Good.

"Ah! You're awake. Good." I turn to face the voice. A pink haired woman in a nurse dress approaches me with a smile. I tense up slightly, getting an uneasy sense of deja vu from the encounter. "If you don't mind, I'd like to check your vitals and wound quick. Make sure you're healing up correctly."

"Yeah. Go ahead." I say, not letting my suspicion take over. It's not likely that I'm being interrogated a second time. Not after all that chaos. I relax as she takes my arm to check my pulse. "How long was I out?"

"About five hours. Brought in from a gunshot wound. You're lucky you were found when you were." She let's my arm go, turning to a laptop on her desk and quickly typing something down.

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah. Someone seems to have tried suturing it up, but it ripped open and got infected shortly after. What exactly happened?" Should I tell her? ...Probably not. Not until I get my bearings on what the frick is going on.

"It's... uh... complicated. I'd rather not talk about it."

"Alright. Fair enough. I'd recommend letting the police know." She turns back to me. "I need to check the wound. Could you lift your clothes?"

"Yeah." I do so, revealing bandages tied around my midriff. She carefully lifts them, revealing a stitched up hole in my body, the area around it red and tender. Is that seriously an infected gunshot wound after only five hours? "It's that healed already?"

"Yeah. Potion is potent stuff." Potion? What on earth is that? Actually, better keep that to myself. Best not to ask what might be a stupid question.

"I guess so." Satisfied that I'm in a safe place, my mind drifts to other topics of concern. "Where's Thunder?"

"You mean your Pikachu? I think he's out in the lobby with the others. Should I bring them in?"

"Yes. Please."

"Alright. I'll be back in a moment." She turns and leaves out the door, leaving me alone. Thankfully not with armed guards this time. With a deep sigh, I finally take a moment to relax. Questions surface in my mind regarding my current situation. Where exactly am I? Who were those thugs kidnapping Mew? Is that new, violent pokemon connected to all this? So many questions and no answers. At least not yet.

The door opens once more. The nurse walks back in, followed by Thunder, the Growlithe I rescued, and another man, a fair few years older than me. If I had to guess the one who brought me here.

_"Alex! Thank Arceus you're alive!"_ Thunder yells, climbing up the bed and standing next to me. I very nearly reply to him before I realize that the other two humans in the room would likely have questions. Questions I'd rather not have to answer. Instead, I quietly whisper to him.

_"Can't use pokespeak right now. We'll talk later."_ He looks at me with confusion for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, good to see you too, buddy." I turn to face the man. "I'm guessing I have you to thank for saving my life?"

"That would be me. The name's Jackson Pine."

"Alex Russet. Nice to meet you. In spite of this rather... unusual situation. Speaking of which, do I need to stay here for monitoring or anything?"

"No, you should be just about good to go." The nurse cheerfully replies. "Though I'd recommend not doing anything to strenuous for a week."

"Alright." I slowly bring myself to my feet and stand up. I feel a mild, shooting pain where the wound is. Enough that I need to take my time with walking.

"I'll drive you back home if you'd like." Jackson says. "Probably better than having to walk." Oh... This is going to be awkward...

"I... Actually don't have a place to stay. It's complicated."

"You can stay with me if you'd like. I've got a spare bed."

"You're just going to let a stranger live in your house with you for an extended period of time?"

"Why not? You clearly need it."

"I don't know..."

_"You can trust me."_ He mutters quietly. Wait a minute. Did... Did he just use pokespeak?

Thunder and Growlithe also take note. Exchanging confused glances.

_"Humans knowing pokespeak isn't normal, is it?"_ Thunder asks.

_"No. Not at all."_ Growlithe replies.

"...Alright." I answer, my curiosity piqued. He did save my life after all.

"Nice. My car is this way." He gestures for us to follow. "Thanks again for all the help, Miss Joy."

"My pleasure." The nurse replies. "Take care now!" With that we leave the room and enter into a waiting area. A few of the people and pokemon I walk past glance my way briefly, probably noting my unusual gait. It seems that whatever world we are in it's much like earth, but pokemon are extremely common. This just keeps getting stranger by the minute.

Eventually we make it outside to the parking lot and reach a red sedan of a make I can't identify. Jackson opens the passenger-side door for me and I step in, joined shortly by the two pokemon. Jackson himself gets situated in the driver's seat, starting the car up and pulling out of the parking lot.

_"Alright, so, how do you know pokespeak?"_ I say in pokespeak to let Thunder and Growlithe understand.

_"Oh a little place called Pokemar."_ His response takes me by complete surprise. He knows about Pokemar?! _"I overheard your friends talk about it on the way over. Sounds like you and Thunder here have been through a lot. Not unlike my trip there."_

_"So you visited Pokemar?"_ Thunder asks.

_"Years ago. Probably around your age. I was a Machoke. Buddied up with a Cyndaquil. Had some really wild adventures. But couldn't stay. Humans can't stay on Pokemar."_  
_"I know."_ I reply. _"I was lucky enough to find a loophole."_  
His face lights up as I say this. _"Might it work for me?"_  
_"First things first we need to find a way back. The people who kidnapped us has a portal somewhere that they used to get to Pokemar. If it's back at that facility we escaped from then we're going to be stuck here a while. No doubt they'll be swarming all over that place."_  
_"I see. What can you tell me about them?"_  
_"They had a lot of money, but apparently skimped on guards. I saw a few wearing shirts with a big letter "R" on them."_  
_"Team Rocket. Great. Exactly what we needed."_  
_"Care to let us in on that?"_  
_"Rocket is a criminal organization. One of the most powerful and widespread. They do a lot of things, but they're most known for kidnapping and selling pokemon." Well, that explains the room of spheres..._  
_"So we're up against an organized crime syndicate. Sounds like an average day."_  
_"At least Alex and I have experience with this kind of thing."_ Thunder chimes in.  
_"For now, though, rest."_ Jackson says. _"Once you're healed up, then we can consider our options."_  
_"Of course. I'm just worried the situation will get worse in the meantime."_  
_"Don't worry about things you can't control."_  
_"Right."_ I lean back in my seat and sigh. It's usually more of a case of things that I'd like to control, sadly. But he's right. I close my eyes and try to rest a little. Kill some time before we get to his place. The sooner I'm back up and running, the better. It takes a little while, but eventually I manage to fall under, drifting into peaceful sleep.


	7. Sanctuary

I awaken just as we pull up into the driveway of a small, rural house on a sparsely populated road. Relatively remote and isolated, surrounded by nature and far from the busy city. Perfect for hiding out from Team Rocket it would seem.

_"Welcome to Oldale Town, guys. Our own little slice of paradise."_ Jackson says cheerfully.

_"Certainly looks the part."_ I reply with a yawn.

_I've never seen a house like that before."_ Thunder muses. _"Why are the walls grooved like that?"_

_"The sidings? To protect the walls from the elements, I think? Never thought much about it, personally."_

_"Why would the walls need protecting? Keeping out the elements is their job."_

_"I think it makes the house last longer."_

_"Well I think it looks kinda stupid."_

The car's engine goes silent and Jackson steps out, walking around to my side to help lend me a hand. With effort I open the door and get to my feet, leaning on him for support. Thunder and Growlithe are not far behind. As we get reach the front door I start to notice a commotion coming from inside. Voices yelling to each other. One in English, the other in Pokespeak. Specifically an Eevee dialect. Though what they're actually saying I can't really tell.

"Oh no..." Jackson mutters quietly. "Not again, Shadow..."

"Shadow?" I ask. He doesn't respond. Instead he simply opens the door to reveal a room in chaos. An Eevee is leaping around, weaving between the living room furniture with grace and recklessness in equal measure. Lagging behind her is a child. A boy no older than 12. The Eevee is practically running circles around him as he desperately tries to catch her.

_"Can't catch me, Josh!"_ She yips playfully. _"I'm too fast for ya!"_

"Just slow down!" Josh pants. "You're gonna break something!"

_"Come on, slowpoke! You can do better than that!"_ Jackson helps prop myself up against the wall as he goes to deal with whatever the heck is going on here.

"Josh, go get her ball." He urges. Josh nods in understanding and dashes off down the hall. Meanwhile Jackson attempts to block the rampaging Eevee's path by stepping in front of her and blocking her with his body, with an amusingly unsuccessful result as she simply squeezes through his legs.

_"Yay! Dad's joined in on the fun!"_ She stops for a moment in a play bow position, her tail swishing lazily back and forth behind her as she seems to almost dare Jackson to grab her. He starts trying to slowly close the gap between them, not wanting to risking her zooming off again.

_"Should we help him or..."_ Thunder muses.

_"Be my guest."_ I reply. Immediately Shadow turns to face me, a look of confusion etched into her face.

_"Wait, was that you that just said-"_ She began before being cut off by Jackson pouncing on her, locking her in his arms. _"Oh, you sneaky human! Not gonna be that easy!"_ She starts to squirm in his grip, forcing him to fight to keep a hold on the hyperactive ball of brown fur.

Josh re-enters the room holding a red and while sphere like the ones in the facility. I tense up, readying myself to grab Thunder and Growlithe and get out if I need to. Thunder takes a defensive position, growling angrily as sparks fly from his cheeks. Shadow, barely still in Jackson's hold, takes one look at the sphere and in an instant her hyperactive attitude is replaced with disappointment.

_"Aw, no fair!"_ She pouts. _"That's cheating! Why do you have to kill the fun in every-"_ Her complaints are silenced as the blue energy from the sphere takes hold and draws her in. With a click the deed is done and the Eevee has vanished without a trace. Josh looks at us, confused.

"What?" He asks. "It's just a pokeball. See?" He holds it out to show me.

_"Get that thing away from me!"_ Thunder yells in adrenaline fueled anger. I don't think I've ever seen him that mad before.

Josh is quick to take a step back. "Woah! Okay. Okay. Dude, calm your Pikachu."

"Sorry." I reply. "He's just had... bad experiences with those things." I grunt and I kneel down and pick Thunder up. _"Relax. I think we're safe."_ I whisper to him. Reluctantly, Thunder stands down, allowing me to return my attention to the others. "Sorry about that. My name is Alex. Your dad is letting me stay here for a while."

"You are?" He turns to Jackson.

"Yes, I am. They needed the help. So I offered to help them. Sorry about the hectic introduction. Shadow tends to get a little stir crazy when she has nothing to do. Speaking of which, Josh, how about you take Shadow and the others out for a run? I'd like to discuss some things with Alex." Wait, others? More pokemon?

"Alright. I was planning on going into town to look at that new bike they got at the store. I'll see you later!" He waves as he heads out the door. It shuts behind him, leaving the four of us alone.

_"You're not from here, are you?"_ Jackson starts, switching back over to pokespeak.

_"Come again?"_ I ask.

_"You. I know your friend is from Pokemar, but you? I figured you may have been from somewhere like Orre, seeing as you were unfamiliar with Team Rocket, but judging by your reaction, you're not all that comfortable with pokeballs, are you? Something ubiquitous across the planet. Which makes me wonder, you're not from Terranor, are you?"_ Terranor? Is that what this world is called? Regardless, it's pointless to deny it. He is right, after all.

_"You're right. I'm from a world called Earth. And there we don't have pokemon. There are only humans."_

_"Ah, A world of humans, a world of pokemon, and one with both. Interesting."_

_"So these 'pokeballs',"_ Thunder interjects. _"What exactly are they?"_

_"I don't know exactly how they work, but they're meant to catch and store pokemon safely and easily. From what I'm told by pokemon it tends to be fairly comfortable being in one."_

_"Comfortable? That's the last word I'd use to describe it."_

_"Gonna have to agree with Thunder on that one."_ I add. _"Rocket's pokeballs felt more like prison cells more than anything."_

_"Probably something to do with the modifications they made to them." Jackson replies. "I hear they modified theirs to ignore the microtags that most balls use. When a pokemon is caught a microchip 'tag' is put on them that tells other pokeballs that this pokemon has already been caught and prevents any other pokeball from catching them."_

_"So they remove the components that use recognize these tags?"_

_"I believe so. Very illegal to do so. Though speaking of which, you're going to want to get these two some balls for themselves, if only to get a tag on them."_

_"Oh no," _Thunder grumbles. "_I am _not _getting stuffed into another one of those._"

_"It'll only be for a second or two,"_ Jackson says to try and reassure him. _"If you don't you run the risk of getting caught by someone else."_

_"I... I just..." _

_"Let's worry about that latter. Right now, I need to lie down." _I interject.

_"Yeah. Fair enough. This way."_ Jackson relents. I take hold of him for support once again as he leads me down the hall and to the guest room.

The room is nothing spectacular. Just your standard, run of the mill bedroom. A twin size bed rests behind a window with a desk and chair to the left. A handful of generic paintings line the walls, many of them depicting pokemon in the wild.

Jackson helps me onto the bed and I lie down, glad to finally be off my feet. Thunder and Growlithe are quick to join suit.

_"There. That work for you?"_ He asks.

_"Yeah. It's perfect. Thank you."_ I reply, letting out a long, relieved sigh. _"You got something with internet? Or whatever you call it here? I'd like to familiarize myself with this world so I don't oust myself."_

_"Of course. Here. You can borrow Josh's tablet."_ He takes an orange, Rotom-themed tablet off the desk and hands it to me. _"Just give me a holler if you need anything."_

_"Will do. Thank you for this. I really appreciate it. When I'm better I'll be sure to repay you somehow."_

_"If my time on Pokemar has taught me anything, it's that you always help another in need. See you later, Alex."_ With that he turns and leaves. I turn on the tablet and am greeted to a very colorful UI. Thunder and Growlith reposition themselves on either side of my head, likely hoping to see as well. After a short while I finally find the icon labeled "Fire Fennekin" and opening into "Zangoogle." I take a second to chuckle at how absurdly similar the names are to the real world counterparts before trying to decide on what to start with. 


	8. The Pokemon Tournament

"Hey Alex! The tournament's on! You wanna see?" Josh yells from across the hall.

"Yeah. I'll be right out." I reply, pulling myself away from the desk. It has been nearly a week since I arrived here. Much of my time was spent doing research and bringing Thunder up to speed on human behavior. In my studies I learned a lot.

This world, Terranor, is a lot like earth. Even geographically. The names of places are all different but the world maps share a striking resemblance to those on earth. With the exception of a few differences like the UK being upside down or New York City getting scaled up in size. It turns out that I'm currently in the Hoenn region which equates to the southern end of Japan. National borders appear to be roughly similar as well. But that's about where the similarities end.

Pokemon have been on this world nearly as long as humans it would appear. They led history down a different path when compared to ours. Dare I say less violent, even. Sure there were still wars but not as many as on earth. Generally Terranor seems significantly more peaceful than my home.

However, one thing stood out to me. The International Pokemon Tournament. By far the most popular sport on the planet. Teams of six pokemon pitted against each other in bouts of combat under the guidance of their "trainers." While it seems a little barbaric to force pokemon to beat each other senseless for the amusement of others I have the feeling there's a part of this I'm missing. From pictures I've seen and clips I've watched the pokemon in these fights treat it the same as their trainers, like a sport. Most legitimately enjoy the fight while others are fiercely competitive. And considering how battles are a common sport on Pokemar it might be that this sort of thing is beneficial to all involved. Though I'd like to see a full fight or two to really understand it.

The sounds of a roaring crowd on the TV fills the living room as I enter. The couch is full to near capacity with both Jackson and Josh as well as Shadow and two other pokemon I've since met during my stay, Tsunami the Mudkip and Salty the Wingull. Thunder, Growlithe and I squeeze into the remaining spots.

On the screen is a stadium about the scale of an American football stadium, the seats filled with boisterous, loud fans. Meanwhile the announcers talk about the upcoming fight.

"-has a lot to prove if he intends to make it into the big leagues. And going up against Stormblade? Whew. It won't be easy for him.

"Indeed. But we've seen bigger upsets before in this very place. So don't count him out yet. Olivel and his team may very well be up to the challenge."

"Looks like we won't be waiting for much longer as I can see the two of them making their way onto the field."

The camera cuts to one of the combatants. the text boxes below reading out information on the combatant.

_KEEGAN STORMBLADE, GALAR REGION_  
_-CHARIZARD_  
_-RILLABOOM_  
_-LAPRAS_  
_-TOXTICITRY_  
_-AEGISLASH_  
_-FLYGON_

The crowd roars out as he strolls confidently forward and steps Into the center ring of the arena The camera cuts yet again to reveal his opponent.

_OLIVEL VICTOR, UNOVA REGION_  
_-BISHARP_  
_-GOLISOPOD_  
_-ARIADOS_  
_-DITTO_  
_-ESPEON_  
_-BEWEAR_

_"Woah! A Ditto?!"_ Tsunami exclaims. _"You don't see those guys around very often."_

_"Same goes for Pokemar,"_ Thunder replies. _"I never actually met one in person."_ The two trainers meat face to face, exchanging words that are lost to the thunderous roar of the crowd, punctuating their exchange with a handshake before heading to opposite sides of the ring. The excitement is palpable, even through the screen of a TV. A referee starts counting down to the start of the bout. Both trainers stand ready, pokeballs in hand. I mentally tune out the commentators, only really interested in the fight itself.

And then it begins. They throw the balls out towards the center of the field. A shiny Charizard and a Bisharp emerge from the spheres, both taking an offensive stance as the pokeballs boomerang back towards their senders. The Bisharp strikes first, leaping into action and scoring a couple of strikes on the black Charizard before he retaliates with flamethrower. Olivel yells to Bisharp something that is, once again mostly drowned out in the noise. A command, if I had to guess.

Bisharp darts around the arena, staying evasive while Charizard continues to press the attack. Impressively Bisharp manages to land several opportune strikes, but is just as often struck in kind during the attempts. After a while of this back and forth Olivel holds out a pokeball, recalling Bisharp and pulling him back into the ball before slinging another one out. His Espeon is deployed, of whom let's out what I assume is a playful jest to her opponent. Keegan also switches out, Sending in his Aegislash.

_"So how does the whole switching out thing work?"_ Thunder asks.

_"A trainer can switch out any of the six pokemon in their team whenever they feel it necessary."_ Tsunami explains. _"However only one pokemon from either side can be active at one time and a deployed pokemon must be on the field for a while before switching out again. At least that's what it seems like. I'd have to ask Jackson."_

As they talk the two new pokemon clash. Aegislash takes the offensive, moving about as if wielded by some invisible swordsman. It's an onslaught that decisively brings Espeon down in spite of her best efforts. The first knockout of the match.

Olivel ops to deploy his Ditto next, who quickly copies Aegislash's appearance and takes a defensive stance. The two swords stand at the ready, glaring daggers at each other, daring the other to make a move. The tension is finally broken when Keegan's Aegislash charges. What ensues appears much like a duel between two invisible swordsmen, ending with Keegan's sword pokemon being "disarmed" and sent spinning off into the distance. Keegan quickly recalls him and sends out Flygon. Ditto, already weakened by the previous fight, is swiftly defeated.

_"So when one side runs out of pokemon they lose?"_ Thunder chimes in again.

_"Yes and no. In these it is expected that when a trainer sees the fight is lost, they yield to protect their pokemon from further harm. There's no official rule that says one must do that, but unless the match is down to the wire, going until the bitter end tends to reflect poorly on a trainer."_ Tsunami says.

_"How can you tell?"_

_"We may not be able to understand humanspeak, but their emotions tend to be pretty easy to read."_ The fight continues with Olivel sending out Ariados. If Tsunami is correct, he'll need to concede defeat very soon, or else have a trick up his sleeve.

_"And none of you have an issue with the humans having you guys do this and telling you how to fight?"_

_"It's not as simple as that."_ Growlithe adds. _"I may not have been in an actual battle before, but I've seen plenty of trainers and seen how they fight. There's a powerful bond of trust there. Trust that their companion will make the right calls."_

_"Exactly."_ Tsunami chimes in. _"That's the hallmark of a great trainer. When everything works together like a well oiled machine. They become a force to be reckoned with. Something truly special. Plus it's just fun, plain and simple."_ What he describes reminds me a lot of my relationship with Thunder before the planetary paralysis incident. A well oiled machine. An intense trust with one I consider a dear friend. Maybe that's the key. Being a trainer could help rekindle what we once had. No reason not to try at the very least.

The fight on TV has started to wind down. Ariados managed to land a bite that injected its venom. While Ariados was able to knock Flygon out, he did get taken out before the venom took her down. Olivel is down by one pokemon, one of them already weakened. It's not looking good for him. Keegan sends out Toxitricity and Olivil brings out Bewear. The two start slugging it out. Olivel encourages Bewear to play it cautiously, strike and back off. Play defensively until an opening appears, likely to avoid Toxtricity's own poisonous attacks which would be devastating to their weakened team. And in spite of outmatched odds, Bewear strikes the knock out blow following a series of feints. The crowd cheers, rooting for the underdog in the fight.

Keegan follows up by deploying Lapras, who wastes no time in downing the weakened Bewear. This fight is just about over. But Olivel seems to go for a hail mary and sends out Golisopod. Once again, they opt for a defensive strategy, but this time it's not quite as successful. Both pokemon are getting battered, but it looks like Golisopod may have a slight advantage, using the Leach Life move to keep in the fight. And after a fight of attrition, Lapras finally succumbs.

The crowd roars in excitement once more. Olivel and his team have held their own despite the odds. Of course, two weakened pokemon against Keegan's two mostly unharmed pokemon is no contest. And so, just like Tsumani said, Olivel concedes, bowing to his opponent and recalling Golisopod.

"Aw..." Josh says. "I was rooting for him."

"He came in the underdog against a trainer with far more experience." Jackson explains. "Him holding on for as long as he did speaks volumes for his team's skills."

"But he's waking away a loser. That's no fun."

"It's less about the victory in this case, I think." I add. "Everyone expected a fairly clean sweep. But Olivel and his team showed that he's not to be underestimated. You don't always have to win to be successful."

"Don't have to- what? You're not making any sense. Being successful and winning are the same thing."

"That's not- whatever. Never mind." I turn back to the screen, which has started showing highlights from the fight.

"That's going to be me out there one of these days. Me and my team will show them all who's boss." I crack a subtle smile at his statement. Sounds just like a kid who want's to be a football player when they grow up. Probably a lofty goal, but far be it from me to tell him the odds. Perhaps he'll surpass them, much like Olivel did.

"I should let you know, I'll be out tomorrow. Now that I'm up and about I have some things I need to attend to." I say. Jackson gives me a knowing nod with a glint of concern in his eyes. I don't blame him for being worried. But we need to go back to that facility. Whatever answers there may be to the Mew situation will likely be there. Not to mention the portal to Pokemar. The sooner we close that, the better. I get up from my seat and gesture for Thunder to follow. "I have to finish planning things out before tomorrow, if you'll excuse me. Thanks for the show."

"Anytime." Jackson says as I head back into the guest room. I pull back up to the desk where a rough map of what Growlithe, Thunder and I remember about the base's layout and local geography. Messy and filled with assumptions, sure. But any planning is better than no planning. Let's hope this will be a short in-and-out operation.

Oh, who am I kidding. It's never that easy...


End file.
